Cheney’s Mid-East Visit

March 2008: Dick Cheney went to the Middle East to meet with OPEC and its de facto leader King Abdullah (Saudi Arabia) to curb oil prices. Cheney would also meet with leaders from Turkey and Oman (non-Opec). As of March 2008, oil prices have jumped up more than 70 percent in the past year to $108. Let’s check his progress.

The 13 countries that make up OPEC produce about 40% of the world’s oil – they are the 800 pound gorilla. George W Bush, being the diplomat that he is, gave OPEC a warning that it would be a ‘mistake’ for OPEC not to increase its supplies. The warning sent to the oil cartel…was ignored. Way to stand tall, W.

So it’s been a couple of months since warnings from Bush and visits from the oh-so-popular Dick Cheney. Prior to visiting these leaders, oil was as stated, $108 per barrel. At this moment, oil has topped $129 a barrel in intraday trading – which is up $2.00 from yesterday’s close of $127! Nice work, good to see that after 8 years of diplomacy the relationships you’ve forged are really working out.